The Kurgo Journey Air harness is one of many, many choices you may be considering for your dogs harness.
I’ve been testing this harness out for the last few months. Indie and Shelby have been testing it in a few different scenarios from street walking to hiking and swimming – we’ve not really used it for scentwork per se because it’s not necessarily designed for it.
The Journey air harness was designed to help “active dogs that are always out in front” to quote their sales page, so, that’s what I tested it for. We hiked a lot, we tested it on leash, off leash and on both attachments, through rivers, under brush and over rocks.
This is my experience with the harness on two dogs, my german shepherd cross, Indie, and my Coonhound, Shelby.
This is not a sponsored post, however, this harness was provided free of charge by Kurgo in order for me to review!
Introducing The Kurgo Journey Air Harness
Pros & Cons
The Kurgo Journey Air is a y-shaped body harness, and it’s a harness that has an awful lot to offer. So let’s take a quick look at the pros and cons.
Pros
Cons
What I Love About the Kurgo Journey Air Harness
Reflective
It’s wonderfully reflective, though it’s reflectors are limited to the top, really. Which is a little bit of a shame. It could do with a bit more if you’re considering road walking? But you can also supplement it with a light up collar or a high-vis jacket.
Sturdy
I’ve not seen a single snag on this despite Indie’s very best efforts to scramble over rocks and through bushes. He’s tried very hard to create snags, but it’s incredibly impressive how resilient the fabric is. It’s actually more resistant than Ruffwear Front Range Harness so far.
Gorgeous Slides
I love the slides on this harness. They’ve been really considerately constructed. They’ve each got a finger dip. Those dips are placed to allow you to loosen this harness quickly and easily – even when worn. And I love this.
With currently more than 6 harnesses for each of my dogs (yep, consequence of the reviewing, testing and ranking!)
Handle
This is one of the best handles on a small body y-shaped harness. It’s longways (which minimises snag risks) it’s plenty big, comfortable and strong in the hand. I’m very impressed by this handle and it’s so far one of very few harnesses-with-a-handle that I would actually advocate people using – and that says so very much.
Two Attachment Points
I love a harness with multiple attachment points, they’re really useful for teaching loose leash. Both points are really sturdy, they’re nicely shaped and strong.
It’s good to note that the front D-ring has changed in it’s direction from the ‘stock’ images shown on the website. I don’t see it making a huge difference, but good to note!
What I Don’t Love About The Kurgo Journey Air Harness
Design Over Function
I found this really weird. Below the chest attachment point, are four … loops? of excess webbing that feels a little like the MOLLE system on things like the OneTigris Metall harness, but it’s not the same, and it’s kind of a weird point for a MOLLE system and weirdly sized too.
So I dug into the listings on amazon and on Kurgo’s on website to see if these were a functional piece of design… and this is what I found.
“The loops on the front of the Journey Air Harness’ chest plate are decorative, and do not have an intended purpose.” (says Cassidy B from Kurgo)
Now, let it be known I’m far from against design! But these to me, represent a snag risk… (minor) and they’re not even that pretty… They’re just kind of there. Which is weird to me – but still, if that’s the worst this harness has to offer? I mean, that’s pretty good, right?
Aluminium fixtures
Whilst light, the aluminium means that this is not the strongest harness on the market. Consequently? If your dog is big and strong, it may not be right for you. I would love to see more harnesses upgrade their materials when they upgrade to a L/XL sort of size because these dogs are (naturally) stronger than small dogs.
It’s heavy.
Despite the aluminium fixtures, this is the second heaviest of this ‘kind’ of harness, second only to the Perfect Fit Harness. This surprises me given the fact that it’s not the biggest surface area, and it’s not even got steel or stainless steel fixtures and fittings.
It’s oddly heavy for what it is, when you compare it’s 338g to the Ruffwear front range (the most similar in it’s construction) 198g – that’s a whopping 140g difference – which makes it closer to twice the weight of the ruffwear front range… which is insane to me!
Who The Kurgo Journey Air Harness Is For
It’s made for hikers and adventurers! It works really well for your average street walk too, but it’s definitely thriving in a hiking environment. It offers a lot of practicality to dog parents of the average dog. The dog who is a Family dog too, never to be underestimated.
It’s also great for the broad chested – it’s a wonderful containment if I’m honest. It doesn’t compromise motion or movement in any way.
This is kind of just a harness that works and lasts really well.
Who It’s Not For.
Not all harnesses are suitable for all dogs, or all conditions. So, here’s a few things that I see as being potentially problematic.
It has quite a broad chest plate which whilst it makes it strong, it can also be a problem for a dog with a narrow chest, It doesn’t impinge on the coonhound’s but, a dog with a narrower chest may struggle.
I also wouldn’t trust it for a large, reactive dog, the aluminium fixtures make me cautious. I’ve seen Indie (40kg/90lbs ish) bend stainless steel – and what he could have done to a pure aluminium fixtures I would hate to find out.
Do I Recommend The Kurgo Journey Air Harness?
I really like it! If you’re an adventurous sort, it would be a fantastic choice for you.
For medium or small sized dogs this is perfect, and for polite large breeds! However, if you have a larger dog, or a prolific steam train of a puller this one might be worth changing to a sturdier version.
I realise this sounds a little like I don’t like the harness, but, I really do.
As mine don’t tend to pull (outside of scentwork) and Indie’s through his reactivity, I will continue using it for hiking. So hopefully that gives a better insight into why I’ll recommend this harness.
Not sure the Kurgo harness is for you, head over to the rankings to find an overview of all the harnesses I’m testing and how I feel about them!
Author, Ali Smith
Ali Smith is a professional, qualified, and multi-award winning trainer is the founder of rebarkable. She has always believed animals deserve kindness and champions force free methods. Believing that dog guardians will all choose the kindest options if proper information is provided, she aims to help all dog guardians who need it and make dog training as accessible as possible
Ali lives win Maryland, US with her husband and her three dogs.
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